Page 24 of Breaking Emily's Rules
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Stone
At least Stone’spassenger was on the quiet side.
But then again, once you’d been released from death row in Texas and were about to get a second lease on life, you might not want to jinx it by being loud and inappropriate. Or possibly his passenger wasn’t saying a word because he was clearly terrified, shaking in the seat next to Stone.
“We’re almost there. Take it easy.” He spoke softly, hoping to sound soothing.
It was noisy in his Cessna and having been sprung from death row, loud and sudden noises were probably not comforting to his passenger. Supposedly, this was a match made in heaven. He’d been united with a family in California, but since they were separated by a few thousand miles, they needed a plane.
And that was where he came in.
“Yark!” said his passenger.
“Ah, so you’re talking to me now.”
“Yark! Yark! Yip!”
“Yippee is right, buddy. You’re about to meet your forever family. Nothing like being small, cute and furry to find you a good home.”
Unlike Winston, who was large, ugly and farted at will. Which was how Dad had wound up with him when the person who’d thought Winston might be their forever dog changed their mind. Just one of Winston’s farts could do that to a person.
Pilots and Paws was an organization Dad had contributed his time and talent toward, and now so did Stone. A few minutes later, he landed his Cessna, took off his headphones and unstrapped his hairy passenger. The furball licked his hand in gratitude, and Stone carried him out. The family was waiting at the airport and as he walked toward the hangar, all three of them spilled out.
“Fluffy!” one of the kids ran toward him.
“That’s original,” Stone said to the poor dog. He handed him over to the kid.
“Can we take a picture of you with the dog?” the mother asked. “It’s so wonderful of you to do this.”
“I’m one of four thousand pilots. No big deal.”
“Can I go in your plane?” the kid asked, handing the dog over to his mother.
Short attention span, that one. “Ah, no.”
“Of course not, Justin. We’re not here to see the plane. This is our forever dog,” the mother said.
“I like the plane better,” said Justin, who it turned out was a pretty smart kid. Still, he wasn’t going anywhere near the plane.
“Let me have Fluffy,” the younger boy said.
Fluffy was handed from the mother to the boy and promptly began shaking like he had when he’d first been placed on the plane. Stone thought it looked like an epileptic seizure, but he’d been assured by the shelter it was normal small dog nervous energy.
“Let’s have our pilot hold the dog while I take one picture. Please?” The mother turned to Stone.
“Sure.” Stone smiled as the dog was handed back to him. Just as the mother took her picture, the dog tongued Stone.
“Thank you so much,” the mother said.
Stone tipped his head and walked toward his office. The things he did for Dad. Pilots and Paws being one of them. He’d been flying dogs back and forth for a couple of months, all in the line of sainthood. Just carrying on the Mcallister legacy. Right.
It didn’t help that he wasn’t sleeping well, and this time he couldn’t blame it all on Winston’s incessant snoring. Six months ago he’d done the right thing, the only thing he could do in the face of his choices. Dad needed him. Stone hadn’t hesitated. But that still meant that he wasn’t where he should be right now, with the rest of his crew. He wasn’t flying jets or having daily adrenaline rushes. For now, it felt like he was coasting. Existing. And barely, at that.
Every now and again his thoughts went back to Emily and that deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes when he’d turned around. She’d askedhimout and not waited around to see if he might take her up on that offer after drying himself off.
Because he would have. Maybe.
